Pironkova out in 1st round in Copenhagen

The Wimbledon semifinal thrill is gone.

Yesterday, Petra Kivitova was defeated in the first round in Copenhagen, and today, Tsvetana Pironkova lost in straight sets to Anna Lapushchenkova. Both Kvitova and Pironkova are talented players (I especially like watching Pironkova), but post-Wimbledon, they have not shown us anything that would suggest a true breakthrough.

Pironkova out of Istanbul in 2nd round

Those of us who were hoping Tsvetana Pironkova's great Wimbledon run might help her turn a corner may have to wait. The 5th seed was defeated 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 in Istanbul today by Anastasia Rodionnova.

Also advancing were 6th seed Andrea Petkovic (def. Ekaterina Makarova), Elena Vesnina (def. Stephanie Voegele) and Vera Dushevina (def. Anastasija Sevastova).

Meanwhile, in Stanford, top seed Samantha Stosur defeated qualifier Christina McHale 6-1, 7-5, and advanced to the third round.

Safarova injured, out of Prague

Top seed Lucie Safarova gave her second round opponent, Johanna Larsson, a walkover today at the Prague Open. Safarova has sustained a left hamstring muscle injury.

Meanwhile, in Palermo, Jill Craybas upset 4th seed Tsvetana Pironkova 2-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Wimbledon miscellany

Semifinalists Vera Zvonareva and Tsvetana Pironkova have met only once, in Moscow last year in the round of 16. Pironkova won the match 6-0, 6-2. Serena Williams and Petra Kvitova have also met only once--at this year's Australian Open, where Williams defeated Kvitova 6-2, 6-1.

Here is a brief history of surprise semifinalists at Wimbledon.

Retiring women's master of ceremonies Jane Poynder says that Maria Sharapova is always ready ahead of time and "wonderfully prepared," that Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters are "very organized," but that her blood pressure can "rise very slightly" when it's time for the Spanish players to head for the courts.

Doubles semifinalist Yaroslava Shvedova's business affairs are managed by doubles player and friend Ipek Senoglu.

Today, in Wimbledon Village, a 15-minute preview of Unmatched was shown, with Martina Navratilova in the audience. The film, a documentary about the friendship/rivalry of Navratilova and Chris Evert, premieres September 15 on ESPN.

Venus Williams & Kim Clijsters both upset in Wimbledon quarterfinals

Four years ago, Tsvetana Pironkova beat Venus Williams in the first round of the Australian Open. Pironkova  became known for upsetting big players, but she also became known for her inability to close matches; hence, her skills have attained her little other than some occasional tournament publicity.

Pironkova, in 18 tries, had never gone beyond the second round of Wimbledon, yet today, once again facing Venus Williams, she pulled out a 6-2, 6-3 victory and is now in the semifinals. Williams was definitely having an "off" day, spraying balls all over the place and missing more first serves than usual. But it would be unfair to attribute Pironkova's victory entirely to Williams' bad day: Lower-ranked players often lose against poorly-playing top players, but Pironkova held herself together, and made only six unforced errors in the match. The world number 82 stayed calm, and used her slice forehand effectively against Williams in a number of rallies; she also repeatedly changed both the speed and the height of the ball.

We've all seen Williams lose big matches, but generally not before the final at this tournament. Her 29 unforced errors took away her chance--for now--to win a sixth Wimbledon championship.

Not as shocking, but nevertheless significant, was Vera Zvonareva's upset of Kim Clijsters. It isn't that Zvonareva doesn't have the game to beat Clijsters--she is a good mover with a sometimes-blistering backhand. But as a tournament moves into its final stages, the Russian tends to wilt, and she has a history of losing to Clijsters, though the matches have often been close. Today, it was the other way around. Zvonareva lost the first set, but then came back to achieve her first win over the 8th seed.

Clijsters' serve and forehand began to fail her in the second set, as Zvonareva's backhand became only more deadly. By the third set, Zvonareva had become dominant, and won the match 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. The 21st seed goes to the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time in her career.

Clijsters wins all-Belgian match at Wimbledon

The much-anticipated Wimbledon round of 16 match between Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin took place today, and Clisters advanced to the quarterfinals with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory. The match, however, did not live up to the expectations of some fans.

Clijsters struggled with her serve in the first set, was error-prone, and was easily broken. During that set, Henin fell and hurt her elbow, and received treatment for the injury at the first opportunity. After losing the first set, the 8th-seeded Clijsters adjusted her game and her serve, and reversed the score to take the second set.

At 4-all in the third, Clijsters broke the 17th seed and then successfully served for the match. She is now 3-0 against Henin since both returned to the tour.

4th seed Jelena Jankovic appeared on the court today with strapping on her thigh. She was having obvious trouble pushing off, and with opponent and 21st seed Vera Zvonareva leading 6-1, 3-0, Jankovic, after checking with a trainer, retired because her lower back had locked. She and partner Chanelle Scheepers gave their opponents, Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta, a walkover in doubles.

Li Na defeated 7th seed Agnieszka Radwanska 6-3, 6-2, marking the first time the 9th seed has beaten Radwanska on a grass court. Tsvetana Pironkova upset 11th seed Marion Bartoli, 6-4, 6-4. This is the first time that Pironkova has beaten Bartoli; Bartoli has three wins against her, all on hard courts.

Qualifier Kai Kanepi advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Klara Zakopalova.

Dementieva upset in Warsaw

It took her almost three hours, but qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova upset 2nd seed Elena Dementieva today in Warsaw. Pironkova's 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 victory came, at least in part, with the aid of 59 unforced errors from Dementieva.

Top seed Caroline Wozniacki had to go three sets with Palona Hercog, but she did advance to the next round.

In Strasbourg, both Lucie Hradecka and 8th seed Elena Baltacha retired during their 2nd round matches--Hradecka with a left wrist injury, and Baltacha with a lower back problem.

There were also upsets in Strasbourg. Sofia Arvidsson defeated 3rd seed (and wild card) Virginie Razzano and Julie Goerges defeated 6th seed Sybille Bammer.

Rain interrupts 2nd round play in Miami

What do you call someone who wins the first set, goes up 3-1 in the second and 3-0 in the third, and loses the match? Tsvetana Pironkova. How many times have we seen Pironkova blow a significant lead? She did it again today against Miami 2nd seed Caroline Wozniacki, who had to fight to the end to win this second round match.

It rained on and off for hours in Miami today, and a lot of matches were interrupted. The match between 24th Alisa Kleybanova and Sara Errani was suspended because of darkness; I assume one of the courts doesn't have very good lighting. The match resumed later, however, and Kleybanova, who had been leading in the second set, saw both her lead and the match fall out of her hands.

Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, seeded 29th, just missed a chance to play Victoria Azarenka again. She held three match points against Lucie Safarova but could not convert them. Safarova won the 2 1/2-hour match,  4-6, 7-6, 6-2. Melinda Czink also had a second round match on her racquet, but lost to 32nd seed Maria Kirilenko.  20th seed Zheng Jie was upset by Virginie Razzano in straight sets.

11th seed Vera Zvonareva--though many of her games went to deuce--nevertheless had a pretty easy job of it against Melanie Oudin, whose service stats were terrible throughout most of the match. Zvonareva won, 6-1, 6-2.

And finally, Justine Henin defeated Elena Dementieva in straight sets (6-3, 6-2 ) again. Dementieva double-faulted 11 times, something she hasn't done lately, and converted only one of the three break chances she had against Henin.

Retirements in Moscow

Sara Errani and Sorana Cirstea both retired during their first round matches in Moscow today--Errani with a right shoulder injury, and Cirstea with a right foot injury. Akeksandra Wozniak and Monica Niculescu were the beneficiaries of the retirements.

Tsvetana Pironkova, who is known for sometimes knocking off higher-ranked players, did so today when she defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenko 6-3, 2-6, 6-4. Top seeds Vera Zvonareva and Jelena Jankovic both advanced to the second round, also. Zvonareva defeated Ioana Raluca Olaru, and Jankovic defeated Yaroslava Shvedova, the woman who took her out of the U.S. Open.

Jankovic won 6-4, 5-7, 6-1, and the sixth game of the last set featured eight deuces; Shvedova saved six match points on her own serve, and had a break point against Jankovic, but could not convert it. Jankovic hit six aces and double-faulted seven times.

Pironkova claims Schnyder as her latest victim

Drawing Tsvetana Pironkova in your first round is not pretty; the Bulgarian baseliner is almost always a dangerous floater at tournaments, and has taken out her share of top players. Today, she got a bit of help from 2nd seed Patty Schnyder, whose usually excellent first and second serves were apparently nowhere to be seen, ar least in the first half of the match. All I have to go on are the stats, but they are telling: In the first set, for example, she won only 33% of her second serve points. 

Schnyder did put up quite a fight in the second set, though, improving her serving stats, and saving five match points. I thought we were going to have a third set, and I liked Patty for it, but Pironkova was able to win on her sixth match point. 

Pironkova def. Schnyder, 6-2, 6-4

Playing Sara Errani? Bring your lunch...

I saw Sara Errani play Alize Cornet in Charleston last year, and the match was a long, drawn-out, grinding, ill-humored affair. I was tired, just watching it. Errani is the ultimate baseliner, willing to hang out for hours and hit groundstrokes. Today in Brisbane, she stayed on the court with Pironkova (another one for long matches) for three hours and thirty-one minutes. She won, too--6-7, 7-5, 6-3.

Mattek out in first round of Pilot Pen

Tsvetana Pironkova defeated Bethanie Mattek in the first round in New Haven today, 7-6, 0-6, 6-0.

Go figure.

Ivanovic loses in Rome

Qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova, the woman who gained a certain amount of fame when she removed Venus Williams from the first round of the 2006 Australian Open, eliminated top seed Ana Ivanovic from second round competition in Rome today when she defeated her, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2. Pironkova broke Ivanovic seven times, and she herself was broken five times.

Pironkova will next play Victoria Azarenka.